2015. december 9., szerda

Press release on the finding of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent in Szigetvar

1. The
research for finding the traces of the tomb (türbe) of sultan Suleiman in
Szigetvár has been carried out since late 2012, with funding received from the
Turkish government (through TIKA). Since September 2015, through the Hungarian
Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), the state of Hungary has also supported the
examinations. The research group established in 2013 examined several possible
locations and excluded numerous ones from the examination. These included the
environs of the Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Park along the Almás Stream, where
the symbolic grave of the sultan is still open to visitors. This area was
formerly covered with water periodically, it was unsuitable for construction
and its characteristics did not comply with the information on the tomb found
in written sources.

2. We
have also thoroughly examined the surroundings of the shrine church of Virgin
Mary the Protectress, located approximately 400 metres to the southwest from
the current location of Turbékpuszta. A memorial plaque worded in Hungarian and
Ottoman Turkish, placed in 1913, announces on the church façade that the
Sultan’s tomb used to be here. However around the church built on a flat,
marshy land, from where the fortress cannot be seen, the geophysical
examinations showed no sign of the foundations of a significant building, a
fortification or the remains of Ottoman era life. Earlier excavations also
failed to uncover any type of evidence suggesting these. The location does not
comply with the geographical characteristics described in written sources about
the tomb. Based on the above, in early 2015 we also excluded this location from
the range of possible sites.

3. The
research group already suggested in 2013 that the remains of the tomb may be
located at an area so far ignored: on the top of the Turbék-Zsibót vineyard,
located approximately 1200 metres from the church. The site is compatible with
the written sources, while the traces of Ottoman era life are apparent on the
surface (tile and brick artefacts, etc.). According to the local population,
"Turkish ruins" used be located here, and they have reported Ottoman
era archaeological artefacts on numerous occasions. With the geophysical and
remote sensing examinations carried out in 2014/15, the traces of several
buildings of a significant size could be described, all oriented toward the
southeast. One of them is almost exactly oriented toward Mecca. The layout of
the buildings is compatible with the buildings in the 1664 depiction of Turbék
(cami [mosque] / türbe, dervish monastery, military barracks, remains of the
fortification).

4. We
have uncovered the remains of the cami or türbe walls during the archaeological
excavations carried out in October/November 2015. The building constructed in
the Ottoman era was rectangular; its wide walls were built from bricks and
stones. The main room of the building is 7.8x7.8 metres large. It could be
accessed from the northwest, through a triple-aisle lobby. There is no trace of
a mihrab or minaret. The building was covered with stone tiles, and there is a
rather large, 2 metres deep robber pit in its central part, which was presumably
dug by raiders in the late 17th century. Some luckily survived decorative
elements of the former building show kinship to the decoration of the Suleiman
türbe in Istanbul. Currently everything suggests that this building could have
been Suleiman's tomb. However, in order to be able to assert this with 100%
certainty, further examinations and the excavations of the other surrounding
buildings are necessary. Examinations with technical devices and archaeological
excavation will continue next spring.

5.
Currently ongoing studies are multi-threaded. In addition to historical,
historic geography and archaeological examinations, we also conduct research
works in the fields of memory policy and church history. We also research the
history of establishing the Virgin Mary the Protectress church in Turbék and we
conduct surveys and excavations at the former battlefield. In order to better
understand the historical framework of the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566 and its
historic importance, we are examining the diplomatic records from the era.